As we approach the end of 2017, we look back on a year that saw the largest cholera outbreak in recent history, continued crisis around migration, protracted conflict and famine. This year, Intercross celebrated its 6th birthday, we launched Intercross the Podcast and shared nearly 200 pieces of content. We have lots of new and exciting things planned for 2018, but in the meantime, let's take a look back on our most popular blog content from 2017.

In this edition of our “In Conversation” video series, Intercross Editor Niki Clark speaks with Alberto Cairo, head of the ICRC's Rehabilitation Program in Afghanistan. Twenty-seven years ago, Alberto arrived in Afghanistan for his first ICRC mission. He never left. Instead, he has dedicated his life to helping the disabled dealing with the consequences of nearly 40 years of conflict. He and his team have taught nearly 150,000 people to walk again and through positive discrimination schemes--90 percent of those employed at the orthopaedic center are disabled themselves--has helped return a sense of dignity and pride to those he serves. In this interview, Alberto speaks about what gives him hope, how a "crazy American" changed his perception of play and the lifetime of lessons he has learned from the disabled.

In this edition of our “In Conversation” video series, Intercross and Online Communications Editor Niki Clark speaks with Jess Markt, ICRC's Sport and Inclusion Advisor. Injured following a spinal cord accident at age 19, Markt teamed up with the ICRC in 2011 to bring one of America's best loved-sports, basketball, to wheelchair-bound men and women in Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, South Sudan and elsewhere. In the process, these players, whose once primary identity was 'disabled', now see themselves as 'athletes' first. In this interview, Markt talks about his new position, the role sport plays in helping the disabled recover both physically and emotionally and how sport is bringing joy to countries like Afghanistan after decades of conflict.

In the second part of our In Conversation Series interview with ICRC Director-General Yves Daccord, Intercross and Online Communications Editor Niki Clark speaks with Yves about how the ICRC is adapting its response to reflect a changing world and a changing face of warfare, information as a humanitarian need and how younger generations may in fact provide the solutions we need to restore our sense of shared humanity.

In this edition of our “In Conversation With” video series, Intercross and Online Communications Editor Niki Clark speaks with our Mr. Daccord about the results of the survey, why an increasingly world is leading to more disconnect and how to foster a shared sense of humanity in challenging times.

Each year, some 65 million people are forcibly displaced, fleeing violence and conflict from places like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Increasing numbers of migrants and refugees are making the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe; according to UNHCR more than 300,000 in 2016 alone. They come for a safer, more secure life, but the trip itself is anything but: traveling in unseaworthy vessels and deflating dingheys through dangerous waters without navigation or adequate supplies. In this edition of our In Conversation With Series, IFRC Delegate Rosemarie North speaks with Intercross about life at sea, some of the violence these people are desperately fleeing, and how the Red Cross is helping.

Next week, the UN General Assembly will host a high-level summit on refugees and migrants, bringing together world leaders to address what has become one of the biggest humanitarian challenges in a generation. Back in May, ICRC President Peter Maurer sat down with Intercross to talk about the factors forcing people to flee in the first place and why world leaders should start seeing migration as an opportunity.

To mark World Humanitarian Day on August 19, we’re presenting a new edition of our popular “In Conversation With” video series, starring the ICRC’s Global Protection Delegate, Pete Guigni, who is interviewed by ICRC DC’s Trevor Keck. They talk about some of the hardest and most rewarding aspects of being a humanitarian in world marked by widespread suffering.

In the newest edition of our In Conversation series, we interview the outgoing ICRC Head of Delegation in Iraq, Patrick Youssef, about how the country has changed during his time there, his experience working with non-state armed groups, and what drives him as a person to do this work.

Intercross' Editor, Anna Nelson, recently sat down in DC for a discussion with the ICRC's Director for International Law and Policy, Helen Durham. They talk about a range of issues - from setting a longterm humanitarian agenda in a fast-changing world, to whether the Geneva Conventions are still relevant despite the challenges of modern-day warfare.

INTERCROSS

Intercross is the blog of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Washington D.C.. It is a place for timely news, commentary on armed conflict and violence, humanitarian action, and the rules of war.

Intercross was started in 2011 as a blog and morphed into a podcast-only site in December 2018. (We are no longer actively adding blog content to the site, however you can still peruse our archive of rich content from the beginning here.)

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**Intercross, the Podcast disclaimer: Just because something or someone is featured here, doesn't mean we endorse or agree with the institutions they represent. Views expressed on the platforms we may highlight don't necessarily represent those of the ICRC.**